Existing dispatch, testing and conditioning systems for the telecommunications field, such as for telephone systems and the like, operate according to known methods and procedures. For example, when a subscriber or customer initiates a service call via a call to an automated repair service bureau, the administrator at the repair service bureau confirms the reported trouble and generates a trouble report or trouble ticket. Through the use of loop management operation systems, using flow through procedures, a technician, along with his vehicle, can be automatically dispatched to the proper location using a craft access system (CAS) or a technician access network (TAN) in order to service the trouble report.
When this occurs, the dispatched technician is supplied with narratives indicating the type of trouble reported and detected, as well as customer information relative to the dispatch. The technician must be able to interpret the problem and identify the proper course of action in order to correct the trouble. In order to correct the trouble, the following steps are followed. Using CAS/TAN, the technician requests on-demand tests and conditions from a central office location. The central office location, via a line conditioning device, can then provide various test conditions over the telecommunications line to be tested, i.e., the "line under test". The technician must further coordinate the testing of the line with the proper portable test equipment or test head and ensure that correct test sequences are issued for the test head.
In the field of telecommunications testing, it has heretofore been known to provide an expensive and complicated test head for physically coupling with the line under test. The technician physically connects the known test head to the telecommunications line. These known test heads include various electronic circuits for coupling with the line under test, as well as a computer hard-wired thereto. The computer allows the technician to perform various tests on the line.
It is a major disadvantage of these known systems that the technician must conduct the tests on the line at the location where the test head couples to the line. In view of the test head being physically connected with a line at oftentimes difficult or barely accessible locations, the technician incurs added labor time in trying to conduct the tests via the hardwired computer. Further, the technician is physically limited by the placement of the test head such that increased stress results due to the awkward postures which must be maintained. This often leads to back injuries and the like.
Further, the known systems allow only a limited number of testing applications to be performed in view of the limited capabilities of the test head. Still further, labor costs for customer service are increased due to the time required for the technician to set up the test head on the line. Also, the expensive cost of the known test heads increase the customer service costs. Even further, the testing applications that can be carried out with known test heads are limited because of the size of the computer integrated with the test head, as well as because of the accessibility of changing the software programs stored therein.
All of the above disadvantages are amplified in view of the tremendous competition in the telecommunications industry, wherein continuous reductions in the work force are leading to longer delays in customer service as well as a lessening of the quality and education of the technicians that are available.
Not only is it difficult for the technician to use the known test heads, the technician is also required to have a substantial knowledge of ever-changing subscriber loop and other support systems in order to carry out various tests on the line. Without this knowledge, technicians often attempt ineffective solutions to the trouble report such as the swapping of line cards, cutting to clear, etc, when other, less drastic, solutions are available.
Another disadvantage with the known methods and procedures is that inadequately trained technicians may not be able to solve a customer's trouble in the allotted time frame. This can further have a side effect on other allotted time frames since the technician may require the assistance of other dispatched technicians, thus decreasing the overall efficiency of the dispatch testing and conditioning network of technicians.
There is therefore needed a user friendly portable telecommunications test and trouble shooting expert system which overcomes the above disadvantages. The trouble shooting expert system must efficiently address the customer's troubles while meeting the needs of an efficient work force within the telecommunications industry.